A college graduate holds a placard with Chinese characters that read "Where are you, my boss?" at a job fair in Bozhou, Anhui province. Zhang Yanlin / for China Daily

Hopes dashed as record numbers of new job seekers flood market, reports He Na in Beijing

Liu Xiaohong boarded a Beijing-bound train in Changchun, capital of Jilin province, on the morning of June 24. Amid tears, cheers and a great deal of ruined makeup, Liu's classmates helped her lift a large suitcase, containing mementos of the past four years, onto the luggage rack.

"I'll let you know as soon as I find a job, and you guys should do the same," said Liu as she cried and waved from the window.

The train was crowded and the crush of people standing in the corridors reminded her of the annual Spring Festival travel rush.

There were many young faces in the carriage, and Liu believed that, like her, they were recent graduates, heading to Beijing to embrace a new, but unknown, life.

A record 6.99 million students graduated from colleges across China this year, an increase of 2.8 percent from 2012, according to the Ministry of Education.